In the field of air jet bottle conveying, one frequently encounters installations having several conveying lines operating in parallel. In this case, it is generally necessary to be able to transfer the bottles from one conveying line to another.
For this purpose, there are several known route switching devices such as, in particular, Y type route switching means. These make it possible either to pass onto one of the lines without any change in direction or to transfer from the other line to the line.
Although they are satisfactory in certain simple configurations, they do not enable all eventualities to be covered.
Thus, in the case of an installation having two parallel conveying lines between which it is wished to be able to transfer bottles both in one direction and in the other at certain times, use has to be made of four Y type route switching devices mounted in series and head to tail.
To avoid such a complicated arrangement, there have already been developed route switching devices capable of performing all of these functions without having to be duplicated. These can involve, for example, route switching using a turntable provided with transfer lines, at right angles to the axis of rotation to the said turntable and capable of corresponding, according to the different alternative possibilities, to the conveying lines at the entry and the exit of the route switching system.
However, one drawback of such devices is that it necessitates an change of direction of the said conveying lines upstream and downstream of the turntable, even if it is wished that the bottles should cross the route switching system without changing lines.
Now, such a change in path leads to reductions in operating speeds and/or increases the risk of damage to the bottles transported.
Another drawback of turntable type route switching devices is that they are not optimal if they have to be used in installations comprising three or more conveying lines in parallel. They then offer only a limited number of solutions for transfer from one line to another and, once again, necessitate duplication.
The object of the present invention is to provided a route switching device that makes it possible to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks and that does not involve any change in path orientation when the articles conveyed have to pass through the device without changing conveying lines.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a route switching device that makes it possible to increase the number of possible combinations for transferring the articles conveyed from one conveying line to another.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will emerge in the course of the following description, which is given only by way of illustration and is not intended to limit same.